Back to History Current Version

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Last registered on January 28, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008909
Initial registration date
January 27, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 28, 2022, 11:01 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Arkansas

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Nottingham
PI Affiliation
University of Nottingham
PI Affiliation
University of Nottingham
PI Affiliation
University of Nottingham

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-01-27
End date
2022-02-11
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Amidst continually increasing evidence in favour of vaccination, hesitancy is sharply divided along political lines. This project will quantitatively assess to what degree vaccine hesitancy can be attributed to (1) a lack of information on COVID-19 and its vaccines, and (2) politically motivated reasoning and exposure to abundant misinformation. Using a large-scale randomized control trial, we will test scalable interventions that provide basic information about vaccines and other interventions designed to combat misinformation and biased reasoning on vaccination. Ultimately, we hope to deliver communication tools that allow healthcare providers to identify which individuals will be receptive to good-faith conversations on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination as well as productively engage those who are otherwise determined to reject any information that is perceived to be pro-vaccination. Our approach will adapt the communication tools of “Paradoxical Reasoning” which were developed to unfreeze entrenched beliefs in the context of the most intractable conflicts (e.g., the Israeli-Palestinian border conflict).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Brownback, Andy et al. 2022. "COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy." AEA RCT Registry. January 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8909-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The first intervention is the viewing of tailored informational videos on COVID vaccines designed to fill informational gaps. The second intervention is a ``paradoxical reasoning'' protocol that asks respondents to engage with reductio-ad-absurdum arguments to soften their positions on COVID vaccination.
Intervention Start Date
2022-01-27
Intervention End Date
2022-02-11

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our primary outcome variables are derived from the COVID-19 Perceptions in Section 3.1. We will use these to construct three primary indices for evaluating perceptions. These are listed below in descending order of importance:

1. Perception1: Vaccination intentions and concerns: (5, 6)
2. Perception2: Vaccination efficacy: (1, 2)
3. Perception3: Vaccination side effects: (7)

Each index will be constructed by taking the mean of the relevant variables, and then standardizing this mean value across subjects. Our indices will have a mean of 0 and standard deviation of 1. Perception1 − Perception3 will form our primary analysis.

Perception1 is our most important outcome. Vaccination intentions and concerns are our primary policy-relevant concerns. Next, we hope to influence beliefs about vaccine efficacy (Perception2)—primarily with the hope that it encourages greater vaccine take-up. Concerns about side effects of vaccination (Perception3) are a second-order concern but important in how they may limit vaccination efforts. We note that only subjects who elect to view extra videos will receive information about side effects, so we interpret results around this index with caution.

We exclude certain perception questions from these indices because they may result in ambiguous predictions. For example, for item (3), a subject may become less concerned about the severity of COVID-19 because they have become convinced of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. For supplementary analysis, we will include a more detailed approach that breaks apart each perception question individually. We will also explore a fourth index, Perception4: Trust in institutions: (8, 9, 10).

We are also interested in the information-seeking behaviors of our subjects. To capture this, two of our video treatments (V1 and V2) allow subjects to elect to watch additional videos after their first mandatory video. We measure “information-seeking” as the number of subsequent videos watched. As a secondary measure, we will also analyze the amount of time spent watching those videos.

1. Seeking1: Number of additional videos watched (0 to 4)
2. Seeking2: Time spent watching additional videos (supplementary)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Our perception index consists of questions from the following list:

1. Effectiveness of vaccines (infection)
2. Effectiveness of vaccines (hospitalization) 3. Risk perception of COVID-19 (severity) 4. Risk perception of COVID-19 (likelihood) 5. Preference for “natural immunity”
6. Vaccine intentions
7. Concern about vaccine side effects
8. Trust (in doctors)
9. Trust (in FDA)
10. Trust (in CDC)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
See attached document
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
See attached document

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In this large-scale online experiment, we will explore the impact of two primary interventions. The first intervention is the viewing of tailored informational videos on COVID vaccines designed to fill informational gaps. The second intervention is a “paradoxical reasoning” protocol that asks respondents to engage with reductio-ad- absurdum arguments to soften their positions on COVID vaccination.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Cross-randomization to ensure subjects are assigned evenly across all possible combinations of treatments.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4000 subjects
Sample size: planned number of observations
4000 subjects in the main survey + 4000 subjects in a follow-up survey. All 4000 will be included in a follow-up survey, but we anticipate some attrition, so the total number of observations will likely be short of 8000.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Video Treatments:
1. Video Control Condition (VC )(N ≈ 1333):
2. Video Optional Condition (V1)(N ≈ 1333):
3. Video Required Condition (V2)(N ≈ 1333):

Paradox treatments:

1. Paradox Control Condition (PC )(N ≈ 1000):
2. Live Virus Paradox (PLV )(N ≈ 1000):
3. Long-Run Paradox (PLR)(N ≈ 1000):
4. Both Paradoxes (PB)(N ≈ 1000):

So, each cross-randomization cell should have a sample of approximately 333 subjects.

Motivated reasoning randomization:

1. GENERAL (N ≈ 1333)
2. MYOCARDITIS (N ≈ 1333)
3. THROMBOSIS (N ≈ 1333)

So, the full 3X4X3 factorial design should have approximately 111 subjects in each cell. However, the even cross-randomization will allow us to identify average treatment effects for each treatment without being restricted to such small samples.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
In pilot studies of approximately 400 subjects, our primary research questions were already marginally statistically significant. So, if our primary sample exhibits similar characteristics, our sample sizes are far in excess of what we would need. However, our main sample will be recruited through a different survey firm. So, the uncertainties about statistical significance arise more from differences across survey firms rather than from sample sizes.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Nottingham
IRB Approval Date
2021-12-09
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials